Unit 8165
Category: layer dug in 2001
Area: North
Interpretive Categories: floor and packing
Data Category Information: none
Dimensions: 2.7m N-S X 1.1m E-W
Discussion: White floor and packing underneath across space sp158. This was reconized easily as the basal boundary of unit 8103. The samples were taken from these floors in three roughly equal thirds about 1m apart. Phytoliths "layer" underneath the white plaster floor ( 8108), strangely it covers a fairly large surface. Under the fairly thick layer of red/brown packing, with occasional traces of burning in what is now S.2 of our unit, we hit the white plaster floor, soundly made, contact in the central area bit of the unit (sample2)
The packing has several types of inclusions including charcoal, ash, and hardened chunks of orange clay that appear to have been oven floors at one point. We also came across occassional burned rock and clay along with some clayballs (see xfinds)
To the south of our unit (sample 6) we excavated all the way to the oven which appears to be sitting on some sort of pedestal, plaster lips up against it very regularly, nicely blunting the edge of the oven. This all looks like the continuation ( original part, that is) of the platform F.169. A salty deposit is underneath the white plaster floor in the southern most part (S.6), and it looks like it covers the whole surface and its only revealed where the white floor is truncated (although if, it's a bit less solid as approaching oven). The floor lips up against the inner western wall, as well (nice, too). The pedestal in the SW corner -was there an oven at this phase, which was scoured, truncated in activity. The area to the west of the lip, where the floor appears to end, and north of the micromorphology sample ( where there is another lip where floor ends). There is a distant packing material. IT is much harder and more compact than in the surrounding areas. IT requires mattocking to excavate. Directly west of the lip that runs N-S, there are strips of dry ashy packing surrounded by most tan clay, also in a strip. This needs to be followed to determine if the pattern continues. It is unclear how far we should go because the floor ends in lips and the plaster fades. It appears that there was some sort of special purpose/ use for this area (squashed) in the middle. After the connection between our floors to the south and the floors to the north was revealed. We decided to take the last third of the unit as a separate unit because it lookd as if the floor in the south part we just exposed (basal boundary of 8165) is continuous ( at the W-S lip) with the basal boundary of 8108.
So, the last unexcavated, third of 8165 will be treated a 8179 (new unit)
Recognition: basal boundary of 8108
Definition: clear (very)
Execution: hand pick and trowel
Condition: dry
Consistency: firm- to a bit moist
Colour: reddish/brown to brown and white
Texture: silty clay
Bedding: massive
Inclusions: phytolith, occasional charcoal
Post-depositional Features: animal holes
Basal Boundary: white plaster
Unit Stratigraphy (as recorded in the field):
Dry sieve volume: 0
Total Deposit Volume: 0
Number of Samples recorded by excavator: 12
Number of X-Finds recorded by excavator: 5
Number of Related Diary Entries: 0
Associated Mellaart Levels (from Space): Unassigned at present
Associated Hodder Level (from Space): Unassigned at present
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Finds Room Information:
All material from site passes through the finds room for washing and separating before it is passed onto the various lab teams. The finds room keeps a basic inventory of what is found. A finds material type list is given here. Further analytical detail maybe provided by the Lab Team data below.
X Finds Material: nothing recorded
Finds Material Stored: nothing recorded
Lab Team Data
Please note the list below does not represent everything that might have been found in this Unit, but represents the datasets we have available on-line. Please ArchaeoBots Sample Recorded: No Ceramics Data for 2001 still to be released Clay Object Records: No Chipped Stone Records: No Conservation Recorded: No Faunal Records: Yes
Count of records:: 1 Figurine Records: Yes
Count of records::none GroundStone Records: No Heavy Residue Records: No Microfaunal Records: No
Sorry not all of this data is available online at present, please contact us if you are particularly interested microfauna recordsPhytolith Sample: No
Sorry not all of this data is available online at present, please contact us if you are particularly interested phytolith samplesDownload this Units Data